Likkutei Amarim Chapter 14 · 5781

00:16 Speaker 1 No, no, I did it like this.

00:17 Speaker 2 Oh. Oh, is this the crew for today? To fly a plane to the Rebbe, one pilot is enough.

00:58 Speaker 1 No.

00:59 Speaker 2 All right, fine. We’re on chapter 14, a short, pleasant chapter. The previous chapter—I didn’t want to tell you this in the last class, so as not to scare you—but for years I’ve held that chapter 13 is the hardest chapter in Tanya. It’s very hard to understand. The chapter itself is hard to understand, and it’s also very hard to understand what the Rebbe—

01:24 Speaker 1 Which chapter, 14?

01:24 Speaker 2 Thirteen, the previous chapter.

01:27 Speaker 1 Oh.

01:27 Speaker 2 What the Rebbe is really trying to say, what lies behind all the explanations there. But we got through it, and we decided that the title of the chapter would be “In Your Own Eyes, Be Like a Rasha”: before a person begins serving Hashem, he first needs to know that he isn’t a tzaddik. A person needs to know where he stands. That comes first, because the moment he starts developing expectations of himself, he’ll very quickly get slapped from one side and hit from the other, become discouraged, and fall. It won’t work. So the first principle, the first preparation for serving Hashem, is “In your own eyes, be like a rasha.” With that, he explained the question from chapter 1. He began by asking there: Why, on the one hand, do we say, “In your own eyes, be like a rasha,” while on the other hand we say that he is made to swear, “Be a tzaddik”? Yes—and “Do not be a rasha in your own eyes.” Chapter 14 deals with the other side. He asked there—this is chapter 1—about the oath, “Be a tzaddik and do not be a rasha.” One of his questions was: Why the repetition? Once you make a person swear to be a tzaddik, then on the other side he won’t be a rasha. He’s a tzaddik. It’s redundant. “Two hundred includes one hundred”: if he’s a tzaddik, he certainly isn’t a rasha. So this chapter deals with the other side. In other words, although you need to recognize that you aren’t a tzaddik, and can’t be one, at the same time you need faith, hope, and confidence that what is demanded of you is not only something you can do, but something very close to you. It’s within your power and very close. A person needs to know this—to be given faith, hope, and confidence that he can do what is required of him. That’s chapter 14. Let’s look inside.

03:25 Speaker 2 Chapter 14: “Now, the level of the beinoni is the level of every person, and every person should strive for it.” Every single person. The emphasis is on every person. A tzaddik, we said, transforms his heart. A person has no control over his heart, so that isn’t demanded of everyone. But being a beinoni is demanded of everyone. “Every person” means every person, literally—men and women. In other words, a person also can’t say to himself, “I was born a rasha; it’s beyond my power, I’m not capable.” The level of the beinoni is the level of every person, and every person can be a beinoni; every person should strive for it.

04:15 Speaker 1 Can I quote something?

04:16 Speaker 2 What? Quote what?

04:18 Speaker 1 If we said that we don’t have control over the heart—

04:21 Speaker 2 Right.

04:22 Speaker 1 But he’s expected to be like someone who does have control over the heart, isn’t he?

04:25 Speaker 2 A beinoni doesn’t have control over the heart.

04:27 Speaker 1 Oh, okay.

04:28 Speaker 2 Only during prayer. During prayer, after preparation and so on. And even when he does control his heart, it isn’t entirely genuine—proof of that is that after prayer it passes; it fades away.

04:42 Speaker 1 But why did you bring in “and so am I” at the end? What about that?

04:45 Speaker 2 It is genuine, genuinely within his power. It’s genuine in this sense: at his level, it’s genuine. He can always awaken it again, but he isn’t there all the time. He doesn’t have love for Hashem burning in his heart without interruption. Whenever he wants, he can stop, think, contemplate, and awaken it. But in practice he isn’t there all the time. Even a beinoni on the very, very highest level, who is there all the time—like Rava, who thought of himself as a beinoni. In truth he was a tzaddik, yes, but he thought of himself as... In other words, even a beinoni at that level, who is, so to speak, praying all day, isn’t there because his heart has changed. He’s simply praying all day. His essential nature hasn’t changed; he hasn’t become something else. He’s working on himself constantly, so it’s constantly apparent, but his essential nature hasn’t changed. He remains as he was. Okay? So anyone can be a beinoni. There are many levels. I can’t be on the highest level of a beinoni; no one expects me to be like Rava, or even on a level below that. But controlling thought, speech, and action—anyone can do that. Every person can be a beinoni at every time and every hour. Why? Because the beinoni does not despise evil. Despising evil is a matter of the heart, and for the beinoni, not all times are alike. There’s a time for prayer, when he contemplates, and a time when he’s out in the world. It isn’t constant for him. With a tzaddik, one of the analogies given is a fastidious person. What’s a fastidious person? [unclear] So this fastidious person walks into a room—not his own home, someone else’s home. It’s a beautiful, orderly, well-kept room; everything is arranged, everything is in its place. It makes him happy. It’s pleasant; he enjoys it. He walks in and feels good; it does his heart good. Now bring that same person into the same room after a farbrengen has taken place there. He doesn’t feel comfortable there. He doesn’t feel comfortable. He doesn’t—

06:47 Speaker 2 He hasn’t left.

07:15 Speaker 1 Huh? He doesn’t connect with it; he despises it. He doesn’t need to think about the fact that it’s dirty. No, he simply can’t bear it. Yes. That’s a tzaddik: someone in whom G-dliness has become so revealed in his soul that his nature is to love Hakadosh Boruch Hu. So when he encounters things that are not Hakadosh Boruch Hu, they feel unpleasant to him. He despises them, simply despises them. Show him pleasures of this world—or not even pleasures of this world, just ordinary material things. The simplest material things, needed to sustain the body. He can’t bear them; it’s unpleasant for him. He doesn’t like dealing with them. That’s a tzaddik, and that isn’t what’s demanded. For the beinoni, it’s “turn away from evil and do good”—in actual practice. We’re not speaking to him about his heart. We’re speaking about action, speech, and thought, which are garments. Every person has the choice, the ability, and the freedom to act, speak, and think even in ways that go against the desires of his heart—indeed, the exact opposite. Right now he has a tremendous urge to tell something he heard about someone, but he knows it’s forbidden, so he can stop himself. That’s in action and speech. He has no control over his heart, over not having the desire. He desires it, but he can stop himself. That’s a beinoni. How can he stop himself? Because “even when the heart covets and desires some material pleasure, whether permissible or, G-d forbid, forbidden, he can overcome it and completely turn his mind away from it.” So here we aren’t even talking about a beinoni who prayed. If he prayed properly in the morning, love of Hashem burned in his heart during prayer. We said that afterward, throughout the day, some impression of that should remain, right? Some impression—

07:16 Speaker 2 Huh? He doesn’t connect with it; he finds it repulsive. He doesn’t need to think about how it’s dirty. No, he just can’t bear it. Yes. That’s a tzaddik: a person in whom G-dliness has become so revealed in his soul that his nature is to love Hakadosh Boruch Hu. So when he encounters things that aren’t connected to Hakadosh Boruch Hu, they’re unpleasant to him. He finds them repulsive, simply repulsive. Show him the pleasures of this world—or not even pleasures, just material things, ordinary material things, even the most basic things needed to sustain the body—and he can’t bear it. He doesn’t like dealing with them. That’s a tzaddik, and that isn’t what’s demanded of us. For a beinoni, it’s “turn away from evil and do good”—in actual practice. We’re not talking to him about his heart. We’re talking about action, speech, and thought, which are the soul’s garments. Every person has the choice, ability, and freedom to act, speak, and think even in a way that goes against the desires of his heart—the very opposite of what his heart desires. Right now he has an enormous urge to tell something he heard about someone else, but he knows it’s forbidden, so he can stop himself. In action, in speech—he has no control over his heart. Not over whether he feels the desire. He does desire it, but he can stop himself. That’s a beinoni. How can he stop himself? Because even when his heart covets and desires some physical pleasure, whether permitted or forbidden, G-d forbid, he can overcome it and turn his mind away from it completely. So here we’re not even talking about a beinoni who has davened. If he davened properly in the morning, then during davening the love of Hashem burned in his heart. We said that afterward, throughout the day, some impression of that should remain, right? Some impression.

09:32 Speaker 2 Forbidden things, or things?

09:46 Speaker 4 I have to say, what the Rabbi said about preparing for prayer beforehand—then there’s the idea of the mind ruling the heart. I always take it that sometimes, right now, I need that [unclear], so that afterward there really will be that experience of the mind ruling the heart. That really struck me.

09:47 Speaker 5 And it works.

10:03 Speaker 2 With Hashem’s help.

10:04 Speaker 5 It works.

10:08 Speaker 2 I mean, at least during prayer, I suddenly feel I need to catch myself.

10:08 Speaker 5 It works, it works, it works. There’s no getting around it. Chassidus isn’t... it isn’t theory.

10:11 Speaker 2 Exactly. That’s what’s a shame when you’re teaching in elementary school. No, when you teach in elementary school and high school, you see what they’re experiencing, and it’s like... The whole matter of prayer needs to— A Chabad girl, I mean, I have to tell her, “Daven.” “I davened at home,” she says, and I know she didn’t really daven at home. And this is in elementary school. They have no desire to daven. I don’t know. I’m not talking about girls who aren’t Chabad; I’m talking about our own Chabad girls.

10:21 Speaker 5 That’s what’s kind of a shame when you teach in elementary school. No, when you teach in elementary school and high school, and then you see what it’s like... The whole matter of davening needs to... With a Chabad girl, I have to tell her, “Daven,” and she says, “I davened at home,” and I know she didn’t really daven at home. And this is in elementary school. They have no desire to daven. I don’t know. I’m not talking about girls who aren’t Chabad; I mean our own Chabad girls.

10:48 Speaker 2 I’m allowing myself to speak more freely because this is a small group. In my own language, I’m used to using terms borrowed from outside the world of Torah. What can I do? In science, when I said “theory,” I didn’t mean Torah. I meant a scientific theory. Science distinguishes between a law and a theory. They aren’t talking about Torah from Sinai. There’s a scientific law and there’s a scientific theory. Those are two different definitions in science. A theory is when, say, I see a light on in a lamp and start trying to work out how it works. So I try to explain it: maybe this, maybe electricity, maybe—I don’t know—some bacteria in there that give off light. I come up with some explanation, a good one, let’s say. Now someone else comes along, sees the same phenomenon, thinks about it too, and explains it differently. So I have a theory and he has a theory. Which of the two theories is right? Maybe neither is right; maybe both are right. How do we know? We plan an experiment—or try to plan one—that will confirm or disprove one of the theories. If the experiment confirms one and disproves the other, fine. If it’s the other way around, fine. If it disproves both theories, then we have to find a third explanation. A scientific law is a natural phenomenon for which a theory was proposed. They tested the theory—not with just one experiment; one experiment doesn’t count as proof in science—but with a whole series of experiments, examining it from every angle, and concluded that this explanation really is, apparently, the right one. That’s called a scientific law. It’s no longer in the category of a theory; it’s entered the category of a law. In science, there are many things that remain theories to this day. There are things that aren’t even that yet—

13:04 Speaker 2 And so on. I said that, in this sense, Chassidus is not a theory. Chassidus is a teaching that has been examined and tested from every angle for two hundred and fifty, three hundred years. It works. It works; it isn’t a theory. We don’t always know how to explain why it works. Someone who practices—specifically Chabad Chassidus.

13:41 Speaker 6 Why Chassidus?

13:41 Speaker 2 This isn’t the place to explain that now. There is an explanation. It isn’t long or difficult, but this isn’t the place for it.

13:47 Speaker 6 And it isn’t simple.

13:49 Speaker 2 Chabad Chassidus isn’t a theory. It’s a teaching; it’s true; it works. Anyone who tries it finds—there’s no such thing as a Jew contemplating before davening and it not having an effect on him. It can’t happen. Why can’t it happen? Because it’s a fact. That’s the explanation: you try it, and it works. It isn’t something that might not work. It’s like when you light a match and bring it close to a candle. There’s no such thing as it lighting one time and not lighting another. The same thing always happens. It’s a candle. That’s the nature of the world. That’s how it works.

14:25 Speaker 6 I have another question. Just today we studied a letter that deals with trust in Hashem. The Rebbe says that the reason we don’t see revealed good is that we aren’t engaged in avodah and Torah study. My question is: how do we actually see the result—that not engaging in them, or engaging in them, affects whether we see revealed good? I mean, in terms of trust, in all sorts of things. It isn’t related, but—

14:56 Speaker 2 I didn’t understand the question.

14:58 Speaker 6 Okay. Neither did I. I mean...

15:05 Speaker 2 Give an example.

15:07 Speaker 6 Maybe—there’s someone the Rebbe writes to, who says that he doesn’t, doesn’t...

15:14 Speaker 2 Work on himself.

15:15 Speaker 6 No. To see the trust, I mean, the good right before your eyes, right? One second. There’s no revelation. He thinks he’s distant from Hakadosh Boruch Hu. Hakadosh Boruch Hu tells him those are imaginings.

15:25 Speaker 2 Yes.

15:25 Speaker 6 But the Rebbe tells him that the fact he’s sad means he doesn’t believe in Hashem. He needs to strengthen his faith. Right. And then the Rebbe explains that he needs to think about how Hakadosh Boruch Hu runs the world, and so on. In relation to this situation, apparently. And then the Rebbe says that since it is the nature of the Good to do good, the reason we don’t see it is that he isn’t engaged in Torah study and isn’t engaged in...

15:52 Speaker 2 Okay.

15:53 Speaker 6 Davening. Avodas hatefillah. So my question is: what effect does davening actually have on seeing that Hakadosh Boruch Hu is good, and that He brings revealed good? Because Hakadosh Boruch Hu—I mean, [unclear]—how will that make me grasp that Hakadosh Boruch Hu is good? It seems unrelated, but...

16:13 Speaker 2 It’s very much related.

16:15 Speaker 6 No.

16:17 Speaker 2 It’s related to faith, hope, and trust. Definitely. Though this isn’t a class on Shaar Habitachon Vehaemunah.

16:22 Speaker 6 Yes, but listen, I don’t know how I got onto this.

16:25 Speaker 2 You can look at the good side of anything, or at its bad side. With some things it’s harder, and I simply don’t understand how you can say they’re good. If it’s something you can look at from both sides, then I understand: I strengthen my trust and start training myself to look at the positive side. Fine. But there are things where, even when I try hard, I can’t see anything good at all. Right? So that’s the question. When it comes to a Jew, this is called the quality of faith and trust, and it has two levels. Faith means: I believe. The Torah says it’s good. I don’t understand it, I don’t see it, but I believe it. That’s already calming. But faith is still an encompassing faculty. It isn’t a faculty that has an active effect. I don’t live with it. I don’t feel happy. I believe Moshiach will come. I believe it, but that doesn’t stop me from feeling upset that I lost money. Right? It won’t make me lend someone a thousand dollars until Moshiach comes. I believe; I really believe. But, but—

17:50 Speaker 6 Faith won’t come up with a thousand dollars.

17:51 Speaker 2 I believe, but... All right? Trust means I’m sure. It’s clear to me. If it’s as clear as day to me that Moshiach will come today or tomorrow, what’s the problem with lending him a thousand dollars? It’s only until tomorrow, right? That’s trust. I’m sure of it. It’s faith at a level that penetrates the mind and the emotions. I really feel that way.

18:21 Speaker 6 Here it comes.

18:22 Speaker 2 The difference—the Frierdiker Rebbe defines it very nicely—the difference between a person who has faith and a person who trusts is that a person who trusts is calm. He’s calm. Hakadosh Boruch Hu is here. Hakadosh Boruch Hu is good. It is the nature of the Good to do good. So everything is good. Everything is good; everything is wonderful; everything is all right. There are several stories about Reb Baal HaYissurim and a number of other elderly people who endured great suffering. He truly didn’t see the bad. He didn’t feel bad; he didn’t feel the suffering. He truly didn’t feel the suffering. Everything was good; he didn’t know what people wanted from him. Now, we aren’t asked to be tzaddikim. Thought, speech, and action are within everyone’s power. The measure of a beinoni isn’t the same as being a beinoni, an actual beinoni. The measure of a beinoni means conducting oneself like a beinoni. It means conducting oneself like a beinoni in action, speech, and thought, and that is within everyone’s power. Because even a Jew who has an hour when his heart desires some physical pleasure, whether permitted or even forbidden, G-d forbid—as we said, this is someone who, as we saw later regarding the beinoni, has slipped a little today. If the impression left by davening were still with him, he wouldn’t desire forbidden pleasures. But even such a person can overcome it and turn his mind away from it completely by making the following calculation: “Say to his heart: I do not want to be a rasha even for a single hour, for I do not want to be separated and cut off, G-d forbid, from the One Hashem in any way, as it is written, ‘Your sins separate,’ and so on.” It says that sin separates me from Hakadosh Boruch Hu. I don’t want that. I want to connect with Hakadosh Boruch Hu. Now, what will it help if a person says to himself, I—there’s a verse that says if I commit a sin, then

20:27 Speaker 2 That will separate me from Hakadosh Boruch Hu. Why would that...? Why would a thought like that stop me from committing the aveirah? Do you understand the question? Right now I feel like doing some aveirah. The aveirah we like to talk about is lashon hara. I really want to speak lashon hara. It’s terribly hard for me to stop. A person talks and talks about what’s on his mind; it’s hard for him to stop. Imagine it, okay? He has to tell himself, “Listen, if I speak lashon hara, it will separate me from Hakadosh Boruch Hu.” Well, why would that thought stop me from committing the aveirah? So we explained that every Jew has a neshamah by nature. The neshamah is part of our psychological makeup. We saw this earlier, in the previous chapters.

21:13 Speaker 7 There are flashes that are called regret, right? Like...

21:16 Speaker 2 Yes.

21:17 Speaker 7 It’s sort of...

21:18 Speaker 2 Huh?

21:18 Speaker 7 It seems like there are these simple flashes, meaning they come immediately.

21:25 Speaker 2 But we’ll touch on that very soon, just briefly. It’s discussed at length in chapters 23 and 24, but we’ll touch on it in the next few lines. A Jew has a neshamah. The G-dly soul wants to cleave to Hakadosh Boruch Hu. The neshamah’s desire is infinite, and that desire is present in every one of us. Every one of us has a powerful desire, of infinite strength, to connect to Hakadosh Boruch Hu. Where do we see it revealed? We see that throughout the generations there have been Jews who, for all I know, barely observed mitzvos their whole lives, if they observed them at all. But when they were threatened—“Convert, or we’ll kill you”—they died al kiddush Hashem. What happened? His whole life he barely observed mitzvos, or didn’t observe them at all. Suddenly he’s ready to die for... What happened here? The essence of his soul awakened. Something caused the essence of his soul to awaken, and it is tremendously powerful. He’s ready to give up his life in a matter of seconds. This happened not once or twice, but throughout the generations. I have that same strength, that same desire. Everyone has it. Since I have this desire, it actually exists within me. It’s hidden, it’s deep, it isn’t revealed, but it exists. So it’s enough for me to tell myself, to contemplate, to think that if I commit the aveirah, I’ll be separated from Hakadosh Boruch Hu. That thought is enough to stir that powerful, resolute desire within the neshamah, and that will be enough to help me refrain from actually committing the aveirah. Nothing more is needed. So that’s the first point. All right? A simple calculation. “I only want my nefesh, ruach, and neshamah to cleave to Him by clothing themselves in His three garments—

23:41 Speaker 2 blessed be He—which are thought, speech, and action, directed toward Hashem and His Torah and mitzvos, out of the hidden love for Hashem in my heart, as in the heart of all Israel, who are called ‘those who love Your name.’ And even the lowest of the low can give up his life to sanctify Hashem’s name.” So if even the lowest of the low can give up his life to sanctify Hashem’s name, am I any worse than he is? He’s someone who... And I observe mitzvos, I’m a chossid, I’ve learned Chassidus, I have observant parents, I have a supportive environment. That guy hangs around on the street all day. He’ll give up his life, and I’ll commit aveiros? Right. So a person needs to make these two calculations. First, I don’t want to be separated from Hashem. Second, if the lowest of the low can give up his life, can’t I?

24:31 Speaker 8 Actually, his challenge is even greater than that of a person who’s more...

24:35 Speaker 2 In a certain sense, that’s true.

24:39 Speaker 8 What about “the greater a person...”

24:42 Speaker 2 A person who observes mitzvos—in a certain sense, his challenge is greater than that of someone who doesn’t observe mitzvos. More is demanded of him.

24:51 Speaker 8 Why?

24:52 Speaker 9 What he does, too...

24:55 Speaker 8 “The greater...”

24:58 Speaker 2 What do you mean, why?

25:00 Speaker 8 It’s so he can work with his G-dly soul.

25:03 Speaker 2 Every person—

25:04 Speaker 8 Why? Everyone has a G-dly soul.

25:08 Speaker 2 Yes.

25:12 Speaker 9 Oh, wow.

25:14 Speaker 2 That’s the next chapter, though. Hakadosh Boruch Hu doesn’t want our successes. If He wanted successes, He would have created only angels. At most, He would have created tzaddikim. He created most people not as tzaddikim, but as resha’im or like resha’im, and He gave us a strong yetzer hara. And when we need to rise and refine ourselves, He automatically strengthens the yetzer hara alongside that, to provide resistance. He isn’t looking for successes; He’s looking for effort, for trying.

25:50 Speaker 8 I’ve heard that about Torah and mitzvos too.

25:53 Speaker 2 Yes.

25:55 Speaker 8 That makes sense, because the tongue hardly does anything by comparison.

25:59 Speaker 2 “And even the lowest of the low—”

26:01 Speaker 8 I was thinking of a challenge, but not in the sense of that whole thing, “The greater a person, the greater his...” Like that.

26:07 Speaker 2 Okay.

26:08 Speaker 8 But that too.

26:10 Speaker 2 So a person needs to make both of those calculations. First of all, the moment I commit an aveirah, I’ll be disconnected. And if it’s still hard for me, I need to remember the lowest of the low: I don’t want to be worse than him. He can hold back, and I can’t? But this raises the opposite question. What actually happens with the lowest of the low? There are places where the Rebbe writes “Kashbak” as an abbreviation for kal shebekalim, “the lowest of the low.” I saw it in a maamar. At first I thought it was one of Groner’s jokes, and then I saw it written in the Rebbe’s maamarim. Kashbak, the lowest of the low. What happens with him? If he’s someone whose G-dly soul can suddenly break through every barrier, why does he generally fail and commit aveiros? What’s the difference? Why doesn’t he fail in this aveirah, but does fail in other aveiros? What’s happening with him? It’s explained this way: “Rather, a spirit of folly enters him, and it seems to him, to the lowest of the low, that with this aveirah he still remains within Judaism, and his soul is not separated from the G-d of Israel.” That’s the first thing. Those are very strong words. Why does the lowest of the low fail? Who is “the lowest of the low”? A person who fails is, at that moment, the lowest of the low, until he does teshuvah. Why does he fail? Because it seems to him that even if he commits the aveirah, he’ll still remain a Jew. That’s what it says here. What does that mean? That the moment a person commits an aveirah, he stops being a Jew.

28:08 Speaker 8 But surely a Jew is still a Jew even when he commits an aveirah.

28:11 Speaker 2 First of all, that’s what it says here. It’s written. What does it mean? This is explained in those chapters we mentioned earlier, chapters 23 and 24, where the subject is discussed at great length: why idol worship is the root of all aveiros. It explains that a Jew’s neshamah is like a rope, with one end tied above and the other end tied below, within the body. When a person commits an aveirah, one of the... There are several interesting expressions there. One of the 613 strands from which the rope is woven is severed. And if it’s an aveirah punishable by kareis, the entire rope is severed; it’s completely separated... By the way, just a question, more for thought. I don’t know; they don’t know this. If the rope is severed—if a person commits an aveirah punishable by kareis, G-d forbid—then how can he do teshuvah? They’ve taken his head off. What will help? Will they attach it again? What will help? Kareis means that the rope of the neshamah has been cut off. He no longer has a connection to... They’ve taken his head off. What good will teshuvah do? So in a number of places in Likkutei Torah, the Alter Rebbe writes that teshuvah is “as though a remedy were found to attach the head to the body.” That’s his wording. And we learn from the Alter Rebbe’s wording that the reason we can’t attach a head to a body is that science hasn’t invented it yet, hasn’t reached that point. But if a remedy were found—

30:05 Speaker 8 It’s possible.

30:05 Speaker 2 —if they find the remedy, invent it, whenever they find a way to do it, it isn’t impossible. If it’s possible spiritually, it’s possible physically too. But that’s an aside. That’s an aside.

30:20 Speaker 8 Why are you stopping? No, I was following the whole discussion about kareis and what they did.

30:27 Speaker 2 So that was an aside. In practice, when a person commits an aveirah, at that moment he’s completely disconnected from Hakadosh Boruch Hu. At that moment. Once he’s separated from the aveirah, once the aveirah is over and he’s stopped doing it, then...

30:50 Speaker 8 Want something to drink?

30:54 Speaker 2 Once he’s finished committing the aveirah, the rest of the rope holds him. The strand associated with that aveirah does remain severed, but afterward the rest of the rope continues to keep him connected to Hakadosh Boruch Hu.

31:11 Speaker 8 Why can’t I hear anything?

31:13 Speaker 2 Once again. When a person commits a sin, at the very moment of the sin, it is just like kares. Right then, he is cut off. Hakadosh Boruch Hu wants one thing, and he does the opposite. If he does the opposite, then he is not connected to Hakadosh Boruch Hu in any way. He is completely cut off. But what happens? Since this is a sin that damages only something on the side, once he finishes the sin, his soul reconnects. The rest of the rope reconnects; only that one strand remains severed, but he remains a Jew. Yes. So, leaving teshuvah aside, someone might come along and say, “Well, excuse me, if it’s only something temporary like that, just for one second, then maybe it actually makes sense to commit a few sins. So what? I’m cut off for one second, but then what?” Yes. That’s exactly like saying to someone, “Come, I’ll make a little cut in your finger. It’ll heal afterward. That’s all. It’s fine, you have nothing to worry about; it’ll heal afterward.” Right? Physically, we would never agree to have even the tiniest wound inflicted on us, even for just a moment. Right? So spiritually, it ought to be the same.

32:31 Speaker 10 Not have it inflicted on us.

32:33 Speaker 2 That I would do it myself. Yes, right. Right. So...

32:39 Speaker 10 The most insignificant of the wicked.

32:40 Speaker 2 So...

32:42 Speaker 10 Does he want to eat?

32:43 Speaker 2 So why? Let’s go back to the most insignificant of the wicked. Why is he able to commit sins? After all, the moment he commits a sin, he is cut off from Hakadosh Boruch Hu, completely cut off. How can he agree to such a thing? Why? Because he has a spirit of folly. He has an animal soul, which he actually feels and lives with, and which operates in his heart and mind. Throughout his life, a person lives with his animal soul, and the animal soul conceals his G-dly soul so that he does not feel it—what it feels, what it wants, its emotions, its understanding. A person does not feel his G-dly soul. And because he does not feel it, he can do things that go against the will of the G-dly soul. That does not change the reality; he simply does not feel it. Because he does not feel it, he can commit sins. But I, says the Alter Rebbe, do not want to be wicked like him, denying the truth. True, he does not feel it, and I do not feel it either. But he does not feel it and does not know. I do not feel it, but I do know. So I do not want to do such a thing. He will only awaken when it comes to the sin of idolatry. But since I know that every small sin is like idolatry, even though I do not feel it, because I know it, I will not do it. All right? That is the reckoning a person needs to make. That is one thing. Another thing: the most insignificant of the wicked also forgets his hidden love for Hashem in his heart. He has not studied Chassidus before davening, and he has not studied Chassidus at all. He does not know what it means to daven, and he does not know what love of Hashem is. He does not know.

34:33 Speaker 2 What does he know? So, he does not know that he has a hidden love. How is he supposed to know? If you stopped five hundred people on the street and asked them what hidden love is, how many could answer? Probably no one. They do not know. All right, so he does not know there is such a thing as hidden love. What do you expect of him? But you have studied Chassidus. You know you have a G-dly soul. You know you have a hidden love; you are aware of its strength and its power. What, after all, is being asked of you? When you begin to feel yourself drawn toward some sin, remind yourself that you have a G-dly soul. That is all.

35:15 Speaker 10 That is all.

35:17 Speaker 2 It is only a matter of remembering. Remembering it in your mind.

35:20 Speaker 10 But when I remember it while I’m sinning, not to do it...

35:23 Speaker 2 That is what he said at the beginning: because the G-dly soul’s will is so powerful, merely remembering it is enough to keep a person from committing a sin.

35:35 Speaker 10 The yetzer hara is stronger than the yetzer tov.

35:38 Speaker 2 No.

35:38 Speaker 10 And has more influence.

35:39 Speaker 2 No.

35:41 Speaker 10 The yetzer tov has more power to influence?

35:43 Speaker 2 Certainly. That is precisely the saying on which the entire Tanya is based: the mind rules the heart. The heart is the yetzer hara; the mind is the yetzer tov. The animal soul resides in the heart; the G-dly soul...

36:01 Speaker 10 Very good.

36:01 Speaker 2 The G-dly soul takes work. It is hard work, and it never stops for a moment. A person needs to pay attention to himself. The work is paying attention to yourself. But once I know, once I have caught myself, the way to overcome it is not difficult.

36:18 Speaker 10 As I remember it, that does not move me in the moment.

36:23 Speaker 2 When I remember it in the moment and really bring it to mind, it certainly does move me.

36:29 Speaker 10 It depends what you mean by “remember.” What does “remember” mean?

36:32 Speaker 2 There is something we have spoken about several times: on Yom Kippur, we complain about the yetzer hara, about the yetzer—“For the sin we committed before You through the yetzer hara.” I must have said this here about six times already, right? I have not had the chance yet?

36:49 Speaker 10 I don’t think so.

36:51 Speaker 2 We said, in the... the Al Chet on Yom Kippur, this Al Chet: “And for the sin we committed before You through the yetzer hara.” Is there a sin I committed... through what inclination did I commit the sin? Right? All sins come from the yetzer hara. What is my particular sin? There are sins that the yetzer hara never even dreamed of. The yetzer hara never dreamed of drawing me to such a place. Many times, a person tempts himself to do things that are not good.

37:19 Speaker 10 And that comes from the yetzer hara.

37:20 Speaker 2 He says—no. It comes from, who knows, habits and laziness and all sorts of wonderful things a person has. A person says to himself, “I can’t. It’s hard for me. It’s beyond me, so I won’t succeed anyway. It’s only for tzaddikim. Tanya is, you know, I don’t know—Reb Hillel of Paritch. Tanya is the teachings of Chassidus.” How did he begin our chapter? The level of the beinoni is the level attainable by every person. After all, every one of us can overcome our yetzer hara completely. Never to sin is within the power of every single Jew. That is chapter 14. The purpose of chapter 14 is to instill in us the faith, the hope, the confidence, the clear knowledge that if I want to, I can. It depends on nothing but my own will. That is chapter 14. If a person wants not to sin, he will not sin.

38:49 Speaker 10 It depends how strong the desire is.

38:52 Speaker 2 What?

38:53 Speaker 10 It depends how strong the desire is.

38:55 Speaker 2 What? No, I can’t hear.

38:56 Speaker 10 It depends how strong the yetzer hara is and how much opposition there is.

39:00 Speaker 2 No.

39:01 Speaker 10 What do you mean, no?

39:02 Speaker 2 No. It does not depend on how strong the yetzer hara is.

39:05 Speaker 10 The desire.

39:06 Speaker 2 The yetzer hara is the animal soul. It is limited; it is only a physical body.

39:13 Speaker 10 And I feel like...

39:14 Speaker 2 The yetzer tov comes from the Jew’s hidden love, which is infinite. Yisroel, the Torah, and Hakadosh Boruch Hu are all one, and a little light dispels a great deal of darkness. The yetzer hara is nothing, like an old and foolish king.

39:31 Speaker 10 And it comes to me.

39:32 Speaker 2 Hakadosh Boruch Hu gave the sitra achra permission to raise itself up like an eagle and to speak, but the moment a person looks at it, it immediately falls. A little light—one thought, when a person says to himself, “I don’t want to”—and the yetzer hara has no answer to that. It gives in on the spot.

39:56 Speaker 10 And how do you not want to? I don’t see [unclear].

39:59 Speaker 2 That is why we study. And when I know that this is how it works, and I try it, I also—

40:05 Speaker 10 It also affects me, now that I know they said to get divorced.

40:07 Speaker 2 What?

40:08 Speaker 10 To get divorced.

40:12 Speaker 2 Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. That is why I said at the beginning that this is the difference between Torah and theory. It is not theory; it works. It has worked for two hundred and fifty or three hundred years, from the Alter Rebbe until today.

40:24 Speaker 10 What happens now? The yetzer hara will say something, I’ll tell it, “No, I don’t want to,” and it will leave me alone?

40:28 Speaker 2 Yes.

40:29 Speaker 10 Maybe something bigger will happen to me, in another direction?

40:33 Speaker 2 That does not affect it. You can use it again. A person can, a person can...

40:42 Speaker 10 It’s not because she asked...

40:44 Speaker 2 Again, changing my heart so that I love Hakadosh Boruch Hu and hate sins—that is the level of a tzaddik. But I can overcome the yetzer hara. How do I overcome the yetzer hara? First of all, every time it comes to me, I can remind myself that I do not want to. I don’t feel like sinning. I want... If I commit a sin, I am separated from Hakadosh Boruch Hu. I don’t want that. And if that is a little hard for me, am I greater than the stars?

41:20 Speaker 10 What if it doesn’t move me?

41:20 Speaker 2 There is no “it doesn’t move me.” There is no such thing. If it doesn’t move me...

41:25 Speaker 10 Why are there...

41:26 Speaker 2 No, no, no. If it doesn’t move me, that means one of two things: either I decided in advance that I would not let it move me...

41:35 Speaker 10 That...

41:37 Speaker 2 Or... please, make it so it won’t move me. That’s what it means to deal with the sins that come before you through the evil inclination. A person who wants to—that’s what we need to grasp and act on. A person who decides not to sin won’t sin. It may happen that while a person is training himself in this, at the beginning and so on—and the “beginning” might last ten or twenty years; I don’t know, each person according to his level—he falls from time to time. But even on that occasion when he fell, if he had caught himself, he wouldn’t have fallen. It’s within his power at every single moment. The mind rules over the heart.

42:28 Speaker 10 It just takes a little more strength.

42:30 Speaker 2 That’s clear. And “I don’t want to be a fool like you”—tell the truth.

42:35 Speaker 10 I don’t want to. I need to tell myself at every moment: I don’t want to, I don’t want to.

42:39 Speaker 2 Right.

42:40 Speaker 10 It’s better to say yes, and... yes, that too.

42:44 Speaker 2 Right.

42:44 Speaker 10 I decided that I won’t say yes.

42:46 Speaker 2 But first of all, at that moment a person is completely cut off, as he’ll explain further...

42:53 Speaker 10 Until the next time?

42:55 Speaker 2 At that moment he is completely cut off. He says he isn’t Jewish. A person—

43:00 Speaker 10 He can put on tefillin after eating chametz.

43:03 Speaker 2 Afterward, afterward.

43:05 Speaker 10 At that moment.

43:06 Speaker 2 At that moment. Afterward he needs to do teshuvah, and doing teshuvah isn’t always simple. And in the Rebbe’s sichos about the—

43:13 Speaker 10 Even in the ways—

43:14 Speaker 2 And there’s a sicha of the Rebbe, a sicha about Pirkei Avos, on “My sin is before me always”: no matter how much a person does teshuvah, and does teshuvah, and does teshuvah, it pursues him forever.

43:33 Speaker 10 Even in the ways—

43:33 Speaker 2 It’s not simple at all. And first and second—

43:36 Speaker 10 If I don’t know, I wait to find out.

43:38 Speaker 2 Hm?

43:41 Speaker 10 If I don’t know, and it all depends on teshuvah—

43:44 Speaker 2 Then you’re not listening; you’re not following the point. What can I do?

43:47 Speaker 10 Well, then...

43:49 Speaker 2 We said that at that moment—

43:51 Speaker 10 That’s it. But we were still talking about teshuvah. That doesn’t contradict the fact that I—

43:56 Speaker 11 It doesn’t contradict it. There’s also the fact that he remains Jewish, and there’s the fact—

44:00 Speaker 10 He’s Jewish, and certainly together—

44:01 Speaker 11 There are two points, like two sides.

44:03 Speaker 2 All right.

44:03 Speaker 11 To hold on to that point all the way through, and still be Jewish.

44:06 Speaker 2 Come, we’ll deal with that when we get to chapter 21. Whereas—

44:11 Speaker 10 From now on, every chapter has a bit of the stick, right?

44:14 Speaker 2 No, no, no, no.

44:14 Speaker 10 No?

44:15 Speaker 2 Not at all.

44:15 Speaker 10 Why, even in chapter—

44:17 Speaker 2 Chapter 19. This is 18. Right. “This is not the case with something entrusted to the heart: that evil should actually be repulsive to the heart and hated with an utter hatred—or even with a hatred that is not utter. This cannot be truly genuine except through the greatness and strength of love for Hashem, in the form of a love of delights, taking delight in Hashem as a foretaste of the World to Come.” To be a tzaddik is... truly, no, we can’t. And about this our Sages said, “May you see your world in your lifetime.” “Your world” means the World to Come, a reward. For a person to love Hashem with a genuine love, for his heart to be transformed into loving Hashem—that is a gift. One person—

45:00 Speaker 10 Now we can reach it, though.

45:01 Speaker 2 One person is given that gift, and another isn’t given that gift.

45:05 Speaker 10 So now we can reach it.

45:07 Speaker 2 No.

45:08 Speaker 10 That’s [unclear] for this week.

45:09 Speaker 2 What?

45:10 Speaker 10 To be a tzaddik.

45:12 Speaker 2 So I’ll read another two lines.

45:16 Speaker 10 Right now we can’t. After—

45:18 Speaker 2 Right now it’s according to our abilities.

45:20 Speaker 10 I know, and still. Right now, no. Right now, yes.

45:25 Speaker 2 There’s actuality, there’s potential, and there’s something from nothing. We’ll see in a moment. “Not every person merits this, for it is a form of receiving a reward, as it is written, ‘I shall give your priesthood as a gift of service,’ and so on, as explained elsewhere.” That is why Iyov said, “You created tzaddikim,” and so on. This also answers another question from the first chapter of Tanya. We’re starting to tie up the loose ends here. We asked there: What does Iyov mean by “You created tzaddikim”? If Hakadosh Boruch Hu created one person a tzaddik and another person wicked, then where is free choice? This one was predetermined to be a tzaddik, that one was predetermined to be wicked, and that’s that. Where is the choice? Ah, that is why Iyov said, “You created tzaddikim,” and so on. No, because, as it says in Tikkunim, there are many different levels and types among the souls of the Jewish people. So there are those who were created as chassidim. He wasn’t created a chossid; he has the soul of a chossid, and he can become a chossid. There are those who are strong: he can be strong and overcome his inclination. There are masters of Torah, prophets, tzaddikim, and so on; see there. So there is such a thing as a Jew being created a tzaddik. What does “created a tzaddik” mean? He has a lofty soul, and if he works on himself, it can be revealed in him. But if he doesn’t work on himself—among other things, we know the story of the Rebbe Maharash, who traveled to France for a few days and encountered a gambling house. Do you know the story?

47:12 Speaker 10 Hm?

47:12 Speaker 2 About the Rebbe Maharash, they said there was a maamar. Let me tell the story. It’s a short story. The Rebbe tells it in three lines in his first maamar. Once the Rebbe Maharash set out on a trip for several days. He arrived in France, where there was a large gambling house. The Rebbe rented a room on the most expensive floor, while the others didn’t have the money, so they stayed on another floor. Then, after some time—an hour or however long—the Rebbe left his room, entered the hall where they were gambling with cards, and stood behind one of the tables. The Rebbe was tremendously moved. He didn’t say a word, but you could see how moved he was. He stood behind the table, watching them play with those impure cards, and suddenly turned to the man seated in front of him and said, “Be a Jew, a Jew, be a Jew.” That was all; he couldn’t go on speaking. He stood there a few more moments, then turned to him again: “Jew, non-kosher wine dulls the mind and the heart.” He couldn’t say any more. He rushed outside, overcome with emotion. Then he sat down—this was a few years before elevators were invented, so in that very expensive luxury hotel, there were chairs on every floor. As soon as you sat on one, four fellows would rush over and carry you up to the floor you needed. He accidentally sat in one of those chairs. Immediately four strong men came to lift him and asked where he needed to go. He said, “Pardon, pardon, sorry, I didn’t mean to,” and got up. “I’m staying just here,” he said, and went in. His room was on that floor. He went into his room tremendously moved. A short time later, that—

49:17 Speaker 2 Jew went looking for the Rebbe who had approached him, and went in to see the Rebbe Maharash. He was there for several long hours and cried a great deal. What exactly happened there? We don’t know. Afterward he did complete teshuvah, and from that young man came an entire family of Chabad chassidim, a family that is in France to this day. The Rebbe Maharash said then that the whole affair, all the commotion, had been worth it to him, because a soul so lofty had not descended into the world for many dozens or hundreds of generations. So a tzaddik’s soul can descend into the world and end up in a place deep within the kelipos. That can happen too. “You created tzaddikim” means that a person is given a lofty soul, and if he makes use of it and works on himself properly, it can indeed be revealed in him. None of this is automatic.

50:18 Speaker 3 If he knows that he was, so to speak, created to be a tzaddik, then that’s very good for—

50:24 Speaker 2 If he knows. But not everyone is told. The Alter Rebbe was told; most people aren’t. The first time the Alter Rebbe came to the Maggid of Mezritch, the very first thing—I think it was in his first yechidus with the Maggid—the Maggid revealed to him the source of his soul and why it had descended into the world. Well, the Alter Rebbe and the Maggid—that isn’t something everyone is told, exactly what it is and what’s going on there. So, now that we understand the difference between a beinoni and a tzaddik, and that being a tzaddik isn’t demanded of us, because it means transforming the heart—but being a beinoni is within everyone’s power, because the mind rules over the heart—there is an explanation: “This will explain the double wording of the oath, ‘Be a tzaddik and do not be wicked.’” Seemingly, this is puzzling: after making him swear “Be a tzaddik,” why must they also make him swear not to be wicked? The greater includes the lesser. If he’s going to be a tzaddik, obviously he won’t be wicked. Why make him swear twice? It would be a needless oath. Rather, it is because not everyone merits becoming a tzaddik, and a person’s power of choice in this matter is limited. To truly delight in Hashem during davening—even if he has prepared, done teshuvah, and meditated, even then it isn’t fully genuine. And for evil to be truly, genuinely repulsive to him—that isn’t... A person has some power of choice in this, but not complete power. It doesn’t depend entirely on the person. That is why they make him swear: at least do not be wicked.

52:15 Speaker 3 So what about the other oaths?

52:16 Speaker 2 Huh? Which oath? The first one?

52:20 Speaker 3 So, in short.

52:21 Speaker 2 Which oath? The first one: “Be a tzaddik.” I’ll get to the other one shortly. We’ll come back to it in a moment. That’s also the answer to her question.

52:32 Speaker 3 Exactly.

52:32 Speaker 2 Therefore, they administer a second oath: “Do not be wicked, at the very least.” In this, the matter of free choice is in every person’s hands: to rule over the desires in his heart. Everyone can do that, and restrain his inclination so that he is not wicked for even one hour of his life, whether by turning away from evil or by doing good. That is a matter of choice, and because it is a matter of choice, they administer the oath: “Do not be wicked.” And “there is no good but Torah”—meaning Torah study, which is equal to all the other mitzvos. So if a person’s power and choice extend only to not being wicked—that is, only to being a beinoni—why administer the oath “Be a tzaddik” at all, if he cannot achieve it on his own? Nevertheless, he must also set aside times to seek ways within himself to loathe evil—not merely to force himself not to do wrong, but to loathe it in his heart, so that evil becomes something repulsive to him. How? What do you want from me? That isn’t up to me! Yes, to some extent it is. For example, through the advice of our Sages, of blessed memory: “A woman is a vessel full of filth,” and so on. And similarly with all kinds of delicacies and treats: a vessel full of filth, and so on. All the pleasures of the world end in decay. No one likes eating rotten food. It’s disgusting. Besides being unhealthy, it’s simply repulsive; a person can’t even look at it. So if a person reflects that every worldly pleasure he can imagine—this thing that now looks beautiful and shiny and appealing—is temporary, and that its true end is decay... And so with all the pleasures of this world: a wise person sees what will become of them, that in the end they will decay and become maggots and refuse. Conversely, he must accustom himself to take pleasure in and rejoice in Hashem by contemplating the greatness of the blessed Ein Sof, to the best of his ability. We know you, and we know that you

54:51 Speaker 2 are not a tzaddik. We know you don’t have the soul of a tzaddik, and we know you haven’t learned all that much. We know you don’t know that much Chassidus, and that it’s hard for you—we know you; it’s all right. To the best of your ability. “Although he knows within himself that he will not attain this level in its full truth, but only in his imagination, nevertheless, he should do his part to fulfill the oath administered to him, ‘Be a tzaddik,’ and Hashem will do what is good in His eyes.” The point here—and the Alter Rebbe returns to this in several places later in Tanya, in much later chapters—is that ultimately, all the souls of all Jews... It says, “And I will grant you passage among those who stand here.” Do you know the verse? It’s a teaching of our Sages. “I will grant you passage”—no, that’s King Solomon. In Mishlei—in Koheles, in Koheles. “I will grant you passage among those who stand here.” Chassidus explains that the souls of the Jewish people are called “those who walk,” while the angels are called “those who stand.” Why are angels called “those who stand”? Angels ascend. How does the Rebbe put it? “Zei geien un geien”—they keep going and going. Not just going: they keep ascending higher and higher. Why, then, does it call them “those who stand”? They go and go and go, but compared with souls, that is called standing still. What does walking mean in the first place? When a person walks—what is the point of that analogy? When he takes a step, he has moved himself. He is no longer in the place he was before; now he is somewhere else. And as he walks, with every step he leaves his previous place and finds himself somewhere entirely different. But angels, however far they go and go and go and go—where are they going? They are created beings; they remain within the limits of a created being. A soul is literally a part of G-d above. That is something entirely different. Even when a soul is standing still, it is

57:13 Speaker 2 going farther than a running angel. That’s what it says. On the one hand, it says, “And I will grant you passage among those who stand.” On the other hand, it says of Eliyahu—Eliyahu Hanavi, who was down here in a body—that he remembered what it was like when he was above in the world of Atzilus. He hadn’t forgotten. So he says... Huh? Yes, he hadn’t—he was, you know, down here. Above and below were together for him. So he said, “As Hashem lives, before Whom I stood.” He remembered how he had stood in the world of Atzilus before his soul descended into a body. So what word does he use there? “As Hashem lives, before Whom I stood.” You stood? You’re a soul, aren’t you? Your whole nature is to walk. All right: a soul standing still is already considered running compared with an angel. And there are higher and higher and higher levels. Every Jewish soul, even a lowly soul, the lowest of the low—its very being is G-dliness. So every Jew has something. A Jew has a connection. It isn’t a lie. When a Jew imagines himself to be a tzaddik, it isn’t a lie. On the one hand, he must know his actual state: he isn’t there. On the other hand, he must imagine that he does want it, that he really is connected to it, that he is there. And that imagination draws the Jew toward Hakadosh Boruch Hu. So those are the two things: “Be a tzaddik” and “Do not be wicked.” “Do not be wicked” is about actual conduct: don’t commit transgressions. And “Be a tzaddik”—make an effort to be a tzaddik; try as much as you can. Want to be completely attached to Hakadosh Boruch Hu. Furthermore, habit has power over everything and becomes second nature. When he accustoms himself to loathe evil, it will become somewhat repulsive to him in truth. If a person devotes time every day... Every day is a lot. Once a week, devote two minutes. One minute—two minutes is

59:30 Speaker 2 a lot. Once a week, on Friday night before he goes to sleep, during Krias Shema She’al Hamitah—before he goes to sleep, Krias Shema She’al Hamitah—one minute to loathe the pleasures of this world. One minute a week. When you get into the habit, it becomes second nature. “When he accustoms himself to loathe evil, it will become somewhat repulsive to him in truth. And when he accustoms himself to gladden his soul in Hashem by contemplating Hashem’s greatness, an awakening from below brings about an awakening from above,” and so on. “Perhaps a spirit from above will be poured upon him, and he will merit a spirit from the soul-root of some tzaddik being invested in him, so that he can serve Hashem with true joy, as it is written, ‘Rejoice, tzaddikim, in Hashem.’ Then the oath administered to him, ‘Be a tzaddik,’ will truly be fulfilled in him.” Just as there is such a thing as gilgul, there is also such a thing as ibbur neshamah—the temporary investment of another soul. It can happen that a soul from a tzaddik enters an ordinary, simple person, and suddenly he feels... he stops being a beinoni and starts being a tzaddik. Such a thing exists. What does it depend on? Again, it is a gift received from above. Who receives it? Someone who makes an effort. A person who makes an effort can sometimes merit even that a spirit from the soul of some tzaddik be invested in him, and the oath “Be a tzaddik” will truly be fulfilled in him. So that is chapter 14. We said in chapter 14 that the first preparation for serving Hashem is for a person not to regard himself too highly: “Be in your own eyes like a wicked person.” Chapter 14 adds that you should know: although the reality is that you cannot change your essential nature, first, everyone can avoid transgressions. If even the most frivolous of people can, everyone can. And beyond that, a person can aspire to change. A person is allowed to aspire to change, to actually become a tzaddik. The next chapter will be the final preparation before beginning to serve Hashem in practice. It will explain that the main thing is that Hakadosh Boruch Hu does not want the result from us; what matters is not the test of results, but the test of

1:01:43 Speaker 2 effort. Did I make an effort? That’s what they look at: whether I made an effort or not.